Originally posted on the March Forward! website.
In response to the catastrophic, immoral war in Afghanistan and the ceaseless epidemic of military suicides, active-duty U.S. troops along with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have launched a nation-wide campaign to educate and assist service members in their right to refuse to fight.
The founders of the campaign are war resisters and active-duty service members who are currently refusing to participate in the war any longer.
This campaign is called “Our Lives, Our Rights.” Its purpose is to reach-out to service members throughout the entire U.S. military in everyway we can—passing out flyers on bases, sending care packages, building an online and media presence, creating organizing teams in military units, and more—to spread the message that the officers and politicians do not care about our lives, and that we have rights as service members. Above all, we hold that the most fundamental right we have is to refuse to deploy to the absurd, immoral war in Afghanistan.
As the politicians lie and stumble over themselves to explain why we must endlessly occupy Afghanistan, and while the generals refuse to address the criminal negligence for troops with PTSD, countless lives are literally being thrown away. It’s a critical time for service members to know about their rights and how to exercise them.
Thousands of U.S. service members today qualify to become Conscientious Objectors, whether or not they have deployed before, entitling them to be exempt from deployment and a discharge with full benefits. Others who are compelled to go AWOL also have legal rights and options. Those with psychological trauma, diagnosed or not, have the right to demand adequate treatment and exemption from deployment. But these rights are unknown to most—so we want to make sure all service members know with this campaign.
Those who resist the war or advocate for their interests can face harassment, intimidation and denial of rights by their chain of command, or need help properly exercising their rights. This campaign will provide a community of support from other service members and veterans, expose mistreatment by the chain of command, and assist service members in the process.
We believe this campaign has the potential to save the lives of scores of U.S. service members and present a real challenge to the generals and politicians who are orchestrating the destruction of so many lives at home and abroad. To maximize the potential of the campaign, we need your help.
Visit the March Forward! website to get involved!
